


A Mother's Wish

by NEStar



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEStar/pseuds/NEStar
Summary: What if Belle had other reasons for wanting to leave her home?Written for AU August. Category was "Single Parent".Mentions of past rape, but nothing shown.





	A Mother's Wish

**Author's Note:**

> This is an odd mash of 98% the original fairy tale and 2% me needing a name for the bad guy and using Disney as short hand.

Even before their father had lost his money Belle's sisters had treated her poorly. The shift in fortune had only worsened the situation, causing her to be the only girl to go into the village to do the shopping.  
  
Maybe if the other girls had shared the task Gaston wouldn't have fixated on Belle so much. Maybe if one of her brothers had driven in with her that day. Maybe if her father wasn't away from home...

It didn't matter. What was done was done and now the consequences fell to her. But when her father returned and spoke of a debt owed to a Beast – a debt that would take one of the girls far away from the family and the village – Belle jumped to go. It would be a way to hide the truth from her family just a little bit longer.

 

* * *

 

The Beast may be strange to look at but he was soft spoken and almost shy. It nearly broke her heart when he asked her in a halting manner if she would marry him.

But how could she say yes while she still kept her secret? What man, even one that looked like a monster, would want a wife that had been... No. It was better for her to just say no. The Beast would discover her reasoning soon enough.

 

* * *

 

“I am with child.”

 

The dream prince opened his mouth but closed it again. After a moment he slowly stepped closer to her and knelt down. “Please tell me if I speak out of turn but...” his gentle eyes caught hers. “Why then are you here? Would you not wish to be with your--”

“No.” Belle cut him off quickly. “He was not my anything.”  


The dream prince studied her for a long moment, taking in the way her arms were crossed tightly around her body and her neck was held high and stiff – like she was waiting for a blow to land. “Ah, I see.”

“You do?” Belle asked.

“If any reports ever came to me of men under my command who had... The punishment was harsh.”  


Belle closed her eyes and tipped her head back.

“This is upsetting you. I'm sorry. I'll go.”  


 

* * *

 

Just like that the proposals stopped. Instead Belle would end her evening by walking into her chambers and discovering an item of baby clothing. How the Beast was speaking to the prince Belle didn't know but they were obviously passing information to one another.

A month after the gifts started Belle walked into her room to see a small cradle set next to her bed. She broke down in tears for the first time since her walk home from Gaston.

 

* * *

 

She hadn't taken notice of the pains at first, she was so large there was always some part of her body protesting movement or complaining of discomfort. But as they got stronger it became clear to her what was starting. It was also the first time Belle had allowed herself to think about how her baby would be born.  


“I don't suppose one of your mystery servants has any skills in midwifery?” she asked the Beast that evening at dinner.

“I don't think so.” He answered easily. “I'm usually the one who ends up in the stables when there's a calf or foal that's...” He trailed off as the reason for the topic caught up to his mind.  


Belle nodded slowly, “Well, I think this may be different that a farm animal but you will have to do.”

 

* * *

 

Thankfully the birth had been easy. Since the Beast only knew of animals he had instructed Belle to kneel and rest her body against the bed. This seemed to make thing go quicker then the time Belle had witnessed one of her aunts who labored laying on her back.  


Now she was laying in bed with her baby nestled next to her breast.

A knock on the door announced the Beast's return. He was carrying a large platter filled with fruits and cuts of cold meat. “You need to keep your strength up,” he said as he set the tray down on the bed next to her. “I know it's not hot mash with honey but I think it will work for you.”

Belle smiled, “Would you care to hold the baby while I eat?”

Moving slowly so as not to startle it, the Beast picked the child up. Belle thought how perfectly his large paw held her baby.  


A soft silence fell over the room, Belle content to eat while the Beast sat mesmerized by the small bundle in his hands.  


* * *

 

“May I offer my congratulations on a healthy child.”

 

Belle was surprised to see the dream prince, it had been so long since he last appeared to her. “Thank you,” she said.

 

The prince was silent, seemingly content to just gaze into the cradle. It was Belle who spoke, “You are drifting far from your normal course of discussion today. Not a single mention of our mutual friend.”  
  
The prince looked up at her. “Did you really think he would care that it is another man's child? Did you think him so proud that he would give up a chance to be set free from the lonely existence rather than embrace something so pure and innocent?”  
  


* * *

 

It had been three days since Belle had last seen the Beast. She had been looking everywhere she knew of but the castle was large and she dared not stray too far from the baby.

 

Finally she found him out in the rose garden. The very place that started her on this adventure.

 

“Dear Beast, have you been hiding from us?”  
  
The Beast looked up at her and for a moment she was reminded of the dream prince.  
  
“I was afraid that I wasn't giving you the space I promised,” he answered. “I did say you would only have to see me at dinner.”

 

“Oh, Beast!” Belle knelt down on the grass next to him, laying the baby down so she could take his paws in her hands. “You could do nothing of the kind. Your company has been so precious over these last weeks.”

 

“Please don't say such things, Belle. It only...” He tried to take his paws from her grasp but she held on tight.

 

“It only?” she repeated. “What is it that you are hiding from me?”

  
“I tried to honor your wishes,” he answered. “But now, even more then ever...”

  
  
“I would say yes.”

 

The Beast looked confused. “Yes to what?”

 

Belle moved close to him, “To you.”

 

The Beast gasped softly, “You mean to say, if I asked...”

 

“Yes.”  
  
  
“But why?”  
  
  
“Because now I love you.”

 

Belle felt a tingle pass from the Beast's paws to her hands. Even though the day was bright and clear the air suddenly felt as if a thunder storm was about to brake over head. On the grass by her knee the baby started to cry. Belle turned away to pick up the child and when she turned back the Beast was slumped over on the ground. Gently she reached out her hand but quickly drew in back when his body began to twist.

 

Just as suddenly as it started, the moment was gone. The air returned to normal, the baby stopped crying, and the Beast slowly sat up. Only, it wasn't the Beast, it was the prince from her dreams.

 

“So that's why you nagged me so soundly,” she said.

 

The prince's laughter filled the garden.

 


End file.
